


with balance will your worry part

by cartoonmoomba



Series: I walked around the world until I found my gravestone [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: AU: WoL, F/M, also cute dragonlets, because those moogle quests were the best, i am still WoL/WoD trash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 09:41:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10988325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cartoonmoomba/pseuds/cartoonmoomba
Summary: "I know not whether to be surprised or amazed at what I just witnessed," Arbert announces as he appears beside her. He watches the sky where the dragonlet had disappeared for a moment before shaking his head. "Pray tell me, Warrior of Light: did you truly just let a baby dragon nearly stick its head in your mouth?"





	with balance will your worry part

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIV does not belong to me.
> 
> Second out of three flights was similarly spent writing. Once again, please excuse any errors. Edits will be made when I am properly at my destination (and not an airport in Warsaw).

She sits at the edge of the plaza being rebuilt, tucked into a hole of unfinished stone and soil away from the wind. The sound of Moogles hammering away and the murmur of the knights reaches her still and Lieal leans her head back against the dirty stone and breathes it all in.

_It's beautiful_ , she thinks, and feels excitement at the prospect of seeing the plaza soon finished.

"Miss!" One of the dragonlets wont to follow her around squeaks near by and the girl cranes her head upwards.

"Good evening," she greets the child with a warm smile. "I hope the night is going well for you?"

"Oh, it is!" Ohl Deeh trills back and drops to a landing beside her. His little claws indent the leather of her gear as he climbs to her lap, chattering away a yalm a minute while he settles into what the dragonlets have decided to be their favourite resting place: snuggled against her, their tails curled around their bodies and snouts buried in her waist.

Obligingly, Lieal runs her nails down the length of his neck. He makes a noise not unlike the purring her cat makes when she scratches her belly.

"Are you hungry?" The dragonlet breaks from its tale of the day to inquire, raising his head to look at her with eyes full of concern. "I can hunt you down a meal! I am a very good hunter, you know." He preens and Lieal chuckles, tickling the underside of his jaw.

"I am alright, but thank you. We eat very different things, you know."

Ohl Deeh cocks its head at her. "But you have fangs, just like I do. Does that not mean we eat the same?"

"I'm sorry to say that mine are not as impressive as yours!" Laughing, Lieal opens her mouth and bares her teeth at the child in her lap. "See?" She says after a moment of letting him examine her face. "Not nearly the same amount as you, or even as sharp. You could win in a hunt against me easily."

"Well," Ohl Deeh considers. "That would be because I am such a good hunter. None of my friends can beat me, so you wouldn't be the only one." His tail thawps lightly against her legs in what she's come to recognize as an attempt at comforting. "There are plenty of other things you're good at, Miss," the dragonlet consoles.

Lieal's lips pull into a large grin. "Thank you, Ohl Deeh. I appreciate your kind words." The small tail beats against her legs again with excitement, much like a puppy. "It is getting rather late though. Should you not sleep soon?"

"Oh," Ohl Deeh remarks with no small amount of sadness. "I suppose so. The early dragonlet catches the prey, after all." His little face reaches up to rub his snout against the tip of her nose in an affectionate farewell before crawling off, ensuring his wings and claws do not get caught on her clothes. "Good night, Miss!" He calls in farewell and lifts off into the approaching night. Lieal watches him go, smiling like a loon.

 _Dragons,_ she thinks. _And people were so frightened of them for so long._

There is the barest of an air shift at the wall beside her before a now familiar voice speaks. "I know not whether to be surprised or amazed at what I just witnessed," Arbert announces as he appears beside her. He watches the sky where the dragonlet had disappeared for a moment before shaking his head. "Pray tell me, Warrior of Light: did you truly just let a baby dragon nearly stick its head in your mouth?"

Lieal flushes. "It was in the name of science," she tells him. "And friendship. Ohl Deeh knows enough to be gentle with us. He would not intentionally harm me."

" _Intentionally_ ," Arbert repeats. "I truly wonder at you, sometimes."

"And yet you chose to remain behind here instead of leaving with your friends." Lieal says and immediately regrets it. Avoiding his eyes in the sudden heavy atmosphere between them, she pats the ground next to her as an invitation. It had been some time since they had last spoken at Alexander with just the two of them - much had happened since then. For a brief moment her throat closes up at the memory of Minfillia leading the other Warriors of Darkness back to their world, and then she inhales again at the sorrow settles once more.

Arbert's weight is a palpable presence beside her even without her looking as he sits down. "Ah, yes, the decision I have been wrecking my head over ever since that day."

She sneaks a glance at him and is, as always, struck by the way his body emits no warmth. The lack of colour in his skin and the dark circles under his eyes. She finds her eyes drawn to his chest and she wonders: does he yet have a beating heart?

"Always with the staring," Arbert comments and Lieal gives up her attempts at subtlety. She meets his eyes, unashamed, and he raises a brow at her. "Are you not finally going to ask?"

"I will," she says. "Are you dead, then? How long will this body last you?"

Arbert shrugs. "Who knows how long I have left. Perhaps an eternity, perhaps only a day. The Ascians are unlikely to offer any answers."

"Have you tried asking Urianger?" Lieal suggests. "Speaking of him - where have you been staying all this time? Is it the Waking Sands?"

Arbert offers her a smirk. "Got it in one, Warrior. As for your friendly Elezen scholar, I cannot say that I have had the opportunity to corner him to ask. Up until recently, it is not as if my question of morality has been a concern."

"You should approach him," Lieal persists. "Perhaps he will know. Or Krile. The Scions are bound to know something, and if they do not, then it is well within their power to seek out the answer."

"Approach them and practically beg for my life?" Arbert scoffs. "After I aimed to kill them? I think not, Warrior."

Beside him, Lieal rolls her eyes and reaches out to punch his arm. The gesture is made with friendly intentions and yet the man still moves to avoid it. "As if that could hurt me," he laughs with some amount of scorn.

"You are so irritating!" The Miqo'te puts proper effort into her movements and this time, the punch strikes true before her companion can react. "They are well aware that you remain here," she continues as Arbert reaches up to rub at his shoulder, his eyes slanted into a glare sent her way. "And better yet, they know you are with me. They will listen to your request."

"Have it your way," Arbert snaps out in reply. "I will consider approaching them. In the mean time, I intend to return to my skulking of the Waking Sands. Pray excuse me."

He moves to stay up and without thinking, Lieal reaches out to grab at his arm. Even through his leathers she can feel the chill of his skin. "Wait. The Waking Sands may not be the best place for you, and you know this." All the Warriors had remained there and she can only imagine the bitterness he must feel at now being there, alone, with corners and hallways full of memories no matter how short lived they may have been. It is all too familiar to her avoidance of the place, the preference to meet only at the Rising Stones.

Arbert does not argue against her insinuation. "Where do you suggest I go then?" He asks instead. "An Inn? With what Gil? It has been a long time since I was an adventurer for hire."

"Well, while I typically do not like to invite strangers back home with me, I do have a couch and an exception I can make." Lieal offers him a smile, her tone half joking.

Arbert stares at her for several long, drawn out moments until Lieal begins to doubt her blind leap of faith. "Am I back to being a stranger, then?" He finally says, the corners of his mouth curling up into a smirk. "I thought we were friends."

 _Friends_. The word pulses like a brand inside of her chest. "Friends call each other by their names," the girl points out. "And not by their titles. Especially when one's title is as unnecessary as "Warrior of Light.""

She knows that she is, indeed, a warrior of Hydaelyn's Light in this ongoing battle with the Darkness. And she knows that he knows it just as well, and also exactly what she means when she tells him this anyway.

"Very well, _Lieal._ Thank you for welcoming me into your home." Arbert's expression manages to appear both grateful and patronizing at the same time. Grinning, she stands up and dusts off her clothes.

"Shall we head off, then? If you are indeed staying, then a trip to the market is required. My kitchen is only stocked for one."

"How domestic," Arbert remarks with a sigh. "We barely even know each other and I already am about to become your errand boy. Is this what you have learned from the Scions? How to make one run errands?"

"Of course not," Lieal replies with an innocence that belies her smile. "I have no clue what you speak of."

Arbert merely grunts in response and waits for her to ensure she has all her belongings. "By the by, what are you doing in a place like this?"

The setting sun wreaths them in a halo of warmth. "I am helping rebuild," she answers.  Smiling, she grabs at his wrist in preparation for the teleportation spell.

"One stone at a time. It is slow going, but we will get there. Together."


End file.
